One thing I was wondering? Is it been thought of to conceive between a human and droid? I would guess way above a model 5 but that is what it seems would be the logical next step in both species evolution.
no conception is still a "Human only" quality. Andriods with special mods can act as surrogates but they can not conceive as they have incompleate genetic strands. ( also it would start a witch hunt among some groups. )
Not too long ago, I went round and round with our beloved author on this exact topic, tossing ideas at her on how it could possibly work in a technical/science sense.
The impression I've gotten on the topic is basically this: take one android that can conceive their own child (through some means or another). Equate that android with Sarah Conner. All AIS's instantly turn into SkyNet, and all humans and androids instantly become Terminators. That's basically the gist of the sociopolitical climate concerning android reproduction.
Maybe I'm just too dense to see the appeal, but why the fixation on androids reproducing via sexual means? It makes no logical sense whatsoever. Androids can already reproduce much more efficiently by any realistic metric. It takes far less than nine months to construct an android chassis, orders of magnitude less time to program an 'infant' android (minutes or hours vs a decade or two via the 'human' method), and doesn't inconvenience or incapacitate the 'mother' android.
I could see androids having sexual relations (or other forms of intimate contact that mere humans might not even understand) for fun, but as a method of procreation? I can't see a single reason for it.
LOL. I'll offer a single word in response that can justify anything and everything: "story" :D
a good story can justify almost anything (at least in fiction)
Short version: "Forbidden fruit". Self-reproduction is the one thing humans can do that androids currently can't. Also, see 'Pinocchio'
Slightly longer version: Self-reproduction (using only integral capabilities/capacities) is one of the fundamental parts of determining whether something is "alive" or not. As it is, androids *can't* self-reproduce. They require factories. Even if modern humans (in the DC setting) often choose to make use of constructed reproduction facilities, the capability to self-perpetuate remains.
Androids, lacking in this capability, are missing one of the fundamental aspects of the determination of being a true life-form, and until they gain the capability would forever be relegated to the status of "simulated life-form" by definition by simply not meeting all of the requirements to be classified as a true life-form.
Does that provide enough explanation/justification? Not sure how much I can add to it without rambling.
I also did some thinking on how it could be a neat story if TeeDee became with android child.
I had some ideas on how to do the reproduction that I never put down in writing, but essentially, you'd have to come up with the basics of a "new life", which are all complicated enogh on their own.
First off, you have to make a synth brain and seed it with a personality - Interestingly, the seeding shouldn't be all that hard since it could be programmed "on the go" with it's parents as templates .. a bit of column A, a bit of Column B and voila, you have a brandnew "Column C".
Making the synthbrain, and the rest of the body, is more difficult. Obviously, it would be impossible to carry all the material around all the time, unless you made a really fat model - So that only leaves one option, to import material from outside and transform it ... in other words, food goes in, machine transforms it and uses it as building material for the new tiny android. And it would have to be tiny, there would be no room for a full grown body.
And tiny androids would be ... really creepy .. for other androids!
And all of this, requires that they could build those machines in the first place. Like, I was thinking of cold fusion being an age old folktale that never worked out as they expected it to ... ie. they could make cold fusion happen, but it was impossible to get the energy to the outside of the fusion chamber or something like that so it was useless as a regular powerplant, and then have some genius human come up with the idea of a matter-decombiner/recombiner that could work inside that power plant making use of the energy from the cold fusion, thus you had the beginning of what would be needed to transform material from organic food/waste, to something useful and then build the small body.
Offcourse, since food is motly organic, and has very little minerals in it, the android child would be almost 100% organic, even if it's synthesized organics ... in other words, it would be a human child that would come out of it ... even more creepy !
And so it goes on. XD
But it would be an interesting story. :)
if by some odd chance the tech was installed - the child would be human. because the organs of reproduction are cloned from humans. DNA is Borrowed and customized for the andriod. IF the andriod carryed a cloned Uterus and Ovarys they would have the genetic material of the "donor" not the andriod. also there is NO way to " self create" a Synth brain they are a complex device as much as a synthetic organ. however the Synthbrain has no DNA or RNA and while it does carry and store some information chemicly all of the Key functions are Digitial or its Equivalant... So COULD a andriod become preggers.. yes. would the resulting child have ANYthing in common with the andriod parents. no.
All "Organic" parts Skin, hair , and vairious other items are cloned from donor humans parts of the DNA is then stripped awway so that the cloned tissue is not able to produce the "missing" parts its just blank protiens so you might have skin, hair, maybe some muscle tissue .. and maybe some nerves and bloodvessels but no bones. no brain. no spine. no Nerve trunks.. that means a dead mass...
The only problem with this line of reasoning is that it implies a male mule is not alive since they're born infertile and unable to reproduce. Thus, I think your theory needs refinement. :-)
Mr Black pretty much hit the nail on the head on this one... just because we can do something.. doesn't mean we should... lets start by examining reproduction in the city of new troy... first and foremost we have the ovarium... this is where most all citizens of new try are born... parents come in.. make their donation (if it isn't already on file) and 40 weeks later.. a baby is born with all the attributes that the parents requested in their child.. (hair color, eye color, sex, and so on.) and the loving parents take their new offspring home to raise and nurture.. now.. the reason for this is because the oblivion virus made it very difficult for procreation and over the years we in new troy don't like to get physically close to other each other... its messy.. sticky.. and unless you know and trust the person physical contact is generally avoided.
now.. we have traditional reproduction.. like Dr Taylor and her daughter.. this is something that is rare .. but still practiced in the city of new troy.. (and most of the wastelands and the other cities as well) some people still like to do things the old fashioned way with all the mess.. and all the damage to the body that pregnancy holds.. as well as all the medical risks... this process is not frowned upon.. but is found to be odd and even commended by the upper elite of new troy.... for those that are fertile and can Cary a child to term.
now.. lets examine androids... and what constitutes life.. and reproduction..
by the laws and orders of the universe... androids are not living creatures... they are complex software reconstructions of what it means to be human.. they have no genetic material to pass on.. nor can they could they if they did because all genetic identification doesn't exist.. along with the dna that is used to make things like skin and other synthetic organs... is a serial number that associates to the manufacture and to the Dr's office that did the installation and so on.. much the same as artificial implants of the early and late 21st century... so.. with out having any genetic material to pass on.. there is no need/desire for reproduction... 2. what need does an android have for sexual reproduction the only thing that can be passed on to another program would be the seed that was used to spark the synth brain in the first place.. which is all done via software/hardware.... at the end of the day.. because androids are not truly "alive" sexual reproduction is an impossibility for any android
now.. look on classified information that is in regards to DOL-E224, Designation "Dolly" she is created using synthetic technologies.. she has been designed/created to fully emulate the human body... and can.. but.. she is still missing some very vital and important things for sexual reproduction.. she needs to be able to produce fertile eggs, which she cant because all the "identifier" DNA was never there to begin with so all eggs she could produce would be sterile and n on viable because she has no DNA to call her own..... she is an amazing piece of biotechnology but at the end of the day all cells were created in a lab and grown in a vat... the best any android can come to reproduction is when another android is created.. they can create a "seed" to be used for sparking of a synth brain... and sadly.. for Dolly... even that's been taken from her in this new form.
Funny thing.....But you gotta realize Genetic manipulation to create life is really easy I mean....GEnetecist in this day and age have successfully fertilized a female Egg cell with the genetic material Extracted from another woman's egg cells
IE 2 women if they had implanted the egg and it took could have had a child together that shared BOTH their DNA. So a Android that could reproduce is NOT that far fetched if they have DNA. Granted hate groups would spring up but Hell hate groups sprung up Ove JAR JAR BINKS....
Rashala... this is true.. but this would not be sexual reproduction... this would be creation in a test tube.. just like Dollys body.. and as has been stated androids do not possess the proper equipment nor the information to make proper equipment work.. they are unable to reproduce sexually... you have to understand that Androids are genetically blank.. at their base.. a type 0 body has no biological parts.. its all solid state (synthbrain being a bio polymer) its after they have decided what they want to be when they grow up that they go from the type 0 body in to something more fitting for what they are going to do as a job.. and thus the body debt rises as they do... no mater how you slice things... there is no need/reason for a android to reproduce sexually... not when they can build a new body.. and populate it.. or even so far as use nano-tech to build another body.. the only time genetics come in to the picture is when they start getting fleshy bits added to their bodies and even that is genetically neutral
there is NOTHING saying that 2 androids can not combine their seed programing and then pay to have a new android created with said programing as their offspring.... but it is not "reproduction" in the sexual sense.
almost NO Andriod Keeps a model Zero its simply too limited in function and abilitys .. it actually doesnt happen.. most model zeros are recycled for each new "class" of new andriods they are genderless and have limited senses..
@RAmsey and centcomm* Well forgive me If I keep a mental image of Ceci sitting in a chair holding a little pink haired baby girl and smiling brighter than the sun.
*warning any attempt to damage this mental image with be met with violence on a scale that would make TEDEE Wince in sympathy*
Marcus - Very nicely written thoughts; however, they already are able to create synthetic DNA - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/120419-xna-synthetic-dna-evolution-genetics-life-science/
This may not be the way that it IS being done in New Troy; however, it COULD be done.
So, it might be possible to get android that COULD reproduce, should someone ever truly desire it (and from some of the comments here, there ARE people that seem to desire it).
I could see some scientific types trying it, because it was there. Back to the discussion of SHOULD we do something, because we can.
I agree with you Marcus, if you have a safer/cleaner method of reproduction seems silly to have androids worry about the distinction; however, I think it could be done eventually, if someone wanted to invest the time/effort into it.
Wow....THis doctor Is she Even really Human *gets out the Xray *
And purple has a point. If you have a job in say.....a room that has to remain full of inert gass. An android who does nto technically need air can work there easily a human however...well They need air. Inversely if you had a job in an area with Highly unstable elctro magnetic fields...Humans No big deal androids...yeah they will need protection
hence why pay is comenserate with the level of risk to the employee involved.
Dr. Silver can rant and listen at the same time!*
("*sigh*" is a very small comment.)
She actually is "...a paragon of (perhaps not quite) selfless virtue.", but she ought to apply a bit more of her massive intellect to the socioeconomics involved in human/android society.
One of the things the good doc seems unaware of is that she's presuming she knows what and how the droid processes everything. She's taking on a cause that isn't hers, and possibly offending at the same time.
I know what Veronica's problem is. Having found out as a little girl that ponies don't exist anymore(either because they are extinct or horribly mutated), she discovered that sitting on a high horse can be just as much fun. She's certainly reluctant to get down from it.
Well, to be fair, based on how good she is at fixing androids, she does have a pretty good idea what is happening in their lovely heads - Bless their dark little hearts, the darlings aren't *that* hard to figure out for a genius like the Good Doctor. XD
True enough, but it's been my experience that people generally dislike being told how they should feel about their own situation. Androids don't seem to be any different. It appears that Veronica's passion for the cause blinds her to this.
Oh certainly, she's very good at figuring out what is going on in their heads on an objective basis.
On a subjective basis on the other hand ... well, I suspect she has a hard time looking past her own nose. You could say that she's blinded by her own brilliance.
"Slightly longer version: Self-reproduction (using only integral capabilities/capacities) is one of the fundamental parts of determining whether something is "alive" or not." Bah so as long as a mecha has nanites that can convert material into a replica of it's self and a AI that can divide (or better yet two AI formes giving up part of themselves to form a truly new AI) to give the new host a conscience of it's own then it's meeting that. Really the only reason for all this concern about replicating droids is because some people want to cross between man and machine.
No not a Cyborg. Offspring of human and machine if you prefer. But no battle chassis or nanotube stuff. As for surviving long voyages the machine code in the DNA would/could provide the means for longevity.
machine code in DNA? Think that's backwards. much easier to digitize a DNA sequence to be reconstructed with the proper chemicals by a machine. Course then you have a clone. However if they carry memory engrams to be introduced during gestation it should come out pretty close to the original person.
Why not be able to make DNA for the Androids. It is possible with the tech being used to seed now I would think! Sort of like a choice of what they would like to contribute with their half of the DNA strand for conception. Hair, Eye color, build,ext.
I think the critical point thats being missed is that for andriods bodys and brains are seperate. the synthbrain has no DNA it is a sybnthetic construct that is lab grown and designed. and are created by the dozens at a time they are all uniform and pretty much the same. the "softwear" is what makes a Andriod a "person" and that softwear exsists beside the body. its actually not about the tech , nano-builders and ect aside ( those technologys are avalable. the thing is the result of all this . wouldnt be a new andriod. it would be blank untill given a seed.. a 'spark' as it were. these seeds are designed and tested before being put into a body. only 1 in 10 "seeds" actually ever forms into a full intelligence. in reproductive terms that means only 1 in 10 children would be born "dead" or insane. those arent good numbers..
I understand the "story" hook for a self reproducing andriod and such. im still trying to wrap my head around the facination with sexual reproduction for andriods though...
Also I dont want anyone to think Im belittleing anyones opinion I find the discussion facinating and very pleasing that you guys care enough to talk about this :D
I like a good discussion on matters that are normally not thought of or considered myself. As for opinions? Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one!
As for the sexual reproduction for androids, They have become a living being, It is in our nature and experience for sentient life or any life to procreate. Even though we created them! No GOD complex implied.
they are "people" they are a type of intelligence. they have emotions. fears cares and all that. they are a type of silicon life. but not as we know it. however the andriods are not under any illusions on the world or there place in it. and self reproduction is something that simply doesnt come up. ( well with the ones we have met ) is there a andriod out there with a mommy wish.. probably. does the tech exsist to give her that dream , yep. would most andriods scratch there heads going.. Okaaay she/he is a bit obssessed. humans have children .. not andriods. so the tech not only woudl cause major uproar in the status que but even andriods arent really intrested in it.
Ada might be. I got the impression that she has a human boyfriend. Didn't she get body mods on his account(I'm not sure it was by his request or her own volition...)? If he is human, surely the subject of reproduction would come up sooner or later.
Ada likes Sex.. not reproduction.. :D and she made the choice on the body mods. Andriods always have a choice on body mods. no Service or Doctor working in the private sector will install a mod without the andriods permission..
As an aside, people talk about "sexual reproduction" ... I'm not sure that needs to be applied. As far as I am concerned, it would simply be an internal baby factory, literally! And while that sounds creepy to a human, an android might view it differently.
Basically, the trigger would be wether two androids "love" one another enough to create a new seed from themselves, and that would in turn start the baby factory.
Eventually, it would be almost like an organic Model 0 in a small format. and they'd still have to move into a "proper" body later on.
Mind you, the parents could still have sex, but for other recreation, rather than for reproduction.
I understand what you are saying here. The hardware is separate from the body. Makes perfect sense. That is the way the world is. Works just fine.
My only concern is that you are claiming that is the ONLY way it could be. I'm not so sure about that - http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/29/17517727-a-living-computer-dna-could-make-it-happen?lite
Combined with artificial DNA (mentioned above), it would be possible to get a self-replicating android.
The first such models would be truly artificial life, but what would their offspring be?
Now I still think you are correct, that most people would prefer the clean/safer method you are presenting for reproduction. Too much sense in the modern world that is presented in DC.
Still it SHOULD be possible to turn androids truly into a lifeform, whether or not anyone has actually gotten all the pieces to work together, yet. Of course, when one does that... are they androids anymore... or just the next evolution of humanity?
It's actually somewhat fair considering androids are stronger, can be programmed to be smarter, and are able to live a very, very, very long time with maintenance. Dolly I think is what, almost 80?
The impression I've gotten on the topic is basically this: take one android that can conceive their own child (through some means or another). Equate that android with Sarah Conner. All AIS's instantly turn into SkyNet, and all humans and androids instantly become Terminators. That's basically the gist of the sociopolitical climate concerning android reproduction.
I could see androids having sexual relations (or other forms of intimate contact that mere humans might not even understand) for fun, but as a method of procreation? I can't see a single reason for it.
a good story can justify almost anything (at least in fiction)
Short version: "Forbidden fruit". Self-reproduction is the one thing humans can do that androids currently can't. Also, see 'Pinocchio'
Slightly longer version: Self-reproduction (using only integral capabilities/capacities) is one of the fundamental parts of determining whether something is "alive" or not. As it is, androids *can't* self-reproduce. They require factories. Even if modern humans (in the DC setting) often choose to make use of constructed reproduction facilities, the capability to self-perpetuate remains.
Androids, lacking in this capability, are missing one of the fundamental aspects of the determination of being a true life-form, and until they gain the capability would forever be relegated to the status of "simulated life-form" by definition by simply not meeting all of the requirements to be classified as a true life-form.
Does that provide enough explanation/justification? Not sure how much I can add to it without rambling.
I had some ideas on how to do the reproduction that I never put down in writing, but essentially, you'd have to come up with the basics of a "new life", which are all complicated enogh on their own.
First off, you have to make a synth brain and seed it with a personality - Interestingly, the seeding shouldn't be all that hard since it could be programmed "on the go" with it's parents as templates .. a bit of column A, a bit of Column B and voila, you have a brandnew "Column C".
Making the synthbrain, and the rest of the body, is more difficult. Obviously, it would be impossible to carry all the material around all the time, unless you made a really fat model - So that only leaves one option, to import material from outside and transform it ... in other words, food goes in, machine transforms it and uses it as building material for the new tiny android. And it would have to be tiny, there would be no room for a full grown body.
And tiny androids would be ... really creepy .. for other androids!
And all of this, requires that they could build those machines in the first place. Like, I was thinking of cold fusion being an age old folktale that never worked out as they expected it to ... ie. they could make cold fusion happen, but it was impossible to get the energy to the outside of the fusion chamber or something like that so it was useless as a regular powerplant, and then have some genius human come up with the idea of a matter-decombiner/recombiner that could work inside that power plant making use of the energy from the cold fusion, thus you had the beginning of what would be needed to transform material from organic food/waste, to something useful and then build the small body.
Offcourse, since food is motly organic, and has very little minerals in it, the android child would be almost 100% organic, even if it's synthesized organics ... in other words, it would be a human child that would come out of it ... even more creepy !
And so it goes on. XD
But it would be an interesting story. :)
All "Organic" parts Skin, hair , and vairious other items are cloned from donor humans parts of the DNA is then stripped awway so that the cloned tissue is not able to produce the "missing" parts its just blank protiens so you might have skin, hair, maybe some muscle tissue .. and maybe some nerves and bloodvessels but no bones. no brain. no spine. no Nerve trunks.. that means a dead mass...
now.. we have traditional reproduction.. like Dr Taylor and her daughter.. this is something that is rare .. but still practiced in the city of new troy.. (and most of the wastelands and the other cities as well) some people still like to do things the old fashioned way with all the mess.. and all the damage to the body that pregnancy holds.. as well as all the medical risks... this process is not frowned upon.. but is found to be odd and even commended by the upper elite of new troy.... for those that are fertile and can Cary a child to term.
now.. lets examine androids... and what constitutes life.. and reproduction..
by the laws and orders of the universe... androids are not living creatures... they are complex software reconstructions of what it means to be human.. they have no genetic material to pass on.. nor can they could they if they did because all genetic identification doesn't exist.. along with the dna that is used to make things like skin and other synthetic organs... is a serial number that associates to the manufacture and to the Dr's office that did the installation and so on.. much the same as artificial implants of the early and late 21st century... so.. with out having any genetic material to pass on.. there is no need/desire for reproduction... 2. what need does an android have for sexual reproduction the only thing that can be passed on to another program would be the seed that was used to spark the synth brain in the first place.. which is all done via software/hardware.... at the end of the day.. because androids are not truly "alive" sexual reproduction is an impossibility for any android
now.. look on classified information that is in regards to DOL-E224, Designation "Dolly" she is created using synthetic technologies.. she has been designed/created to fully emulate the human body... and can.. but.. she is still missing some very vital and important things for sexual reproduction.. she needs to be able to produce fertile eggs, which she cant because all the "identifier" DNA was never there to begin with so all eggs she could produce would be sterile and n on viable because she has no DNA to call her own..... she is an amazing piece of biotechnology but at the end of the day all cells were created in a lab and grown in a vat... the best any android can come to reproduction is when another android is created.. they can create a "seed" to be used for sparking of a synth brain... and sadly.. for Dolly... even that's been taken from her in this new form.
It's not.
Heck, we have organic life on earth without DNA. We even have some without brains!
IE 2 women if they had implanted the egg and it took could have had a child together that shared BOTH their DNA. So a Android that could reproduce is NOT that far fetched if they have DNA. Granted hate groups would spring up but Hell hate groups sprung up Ove JAR JAR BINKS....
there is NOTHING saying that 2 androids can not combine their seed programing and then pay to have a new android created with said programing as their offspring.... but it is not "reproduction" in the sexual sense.
[Just not quite right...]
*warning any attempt to damage this mental image with be met with violence on a scale that would make TEDEE Wince in sympathy*
- THIS UNIT IS INITIATING WASTE ELIMINATION PROCEDURE 2-E. PREPARE REPLACEMENT WASTE RECEPTACLE AT EARLIEST CONVENIENCE. -
And then it offloads so much organic waste material out its rear port that Ceci's olfactory sensors implode.
This may not be the way that it IS being done in New Troy; however, it COULD be done.
So, it might be possible to get android that COULD reproduce, should someone ever truly desire it (and from some of the comments here, there ARE people that seem to desire it).
I could see some scientific types trying it, because it was there. Back to the discussion of SHOULD we do something, because we can.
I agree with you Marcus, if you have a safer/cleaner method of reproduction seems silly to have androids worry about the distinction; however, I think it could be done eventually, if someone wanted to invest the time/effort into it.
And purple has a point. If you have a job in say.....a room that has to remain full of inert gass. An android who does nto technically need air can work there easily a human however...well They need air. Inversely if you had a job in an area with Highly unstable elctro magnetic fields...Humans No big deal androids...yeah they will need protection
hence why pay is comenserate with the level of risk to the employee involved.
("*sigh*" is a very small comment.)
She actually is "...a paragon of (perhaps not quite) selfless virtue.", but she ought to apply a bit more of her massive intellect to the socioeconomics involved in human/android society.
*(Part of her 'mad skilz' no doubt!)
*note: my pattern prediction abilities are abnormally high
connie sure is patient.(i would have started yelling at her to shut her up)
On a subjective basis on the other hand ... well, I suspect she has a hard time looking past her own nose. You could say that she's blinded by her own brilliance.
Also, panel three is my favorite. XD
I understand the "story" hook for a self reproducing andriod and such. im still trying to wrap my head around the facination with sexual reproduction for andriods though...
Also I dont want anyone to think Im belittleing anyones opinion I find the discussion facinating and very pleasing that you guys care enough to talk about this :D
As for the sexual reproduction for androids, They have become a living being, It is in our nature and experience for sentient life or any life to procreate. Even though we created them! No GOD complex implied.
A significant portion of the Commenteers are intellectual mechanophiles it seems.
[Toast is good though...]
That's my fucking job!!
As an aside, people talk about "sexual reproduction" ... I'm not sure that needs to be applied. As far as I am concerned, it would simply be an internal baby factory, literally! And while that sounds creepy to a human, an android might view it differently.
Basically, the trigger would be wether two androids "love" one another enough to create a new seed from themselves, and that would in turn start the baby factory.
Eventually, it would be almost like an organic Model 0 in a small format. and they'd still have to move into a "proper" body later on.
Mind you, the parents could still have sex, but for other recreation, rather than for reproduction.
My only concern is that you are claiming that is the ONLY way it could be. I'm not so sure about that - http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/29/17517727-a-living-computer-dna-could-make-it-happen?lite
Combined with artificial DNA (mentioned above), it would be possible to get a self-replicating android.
The first such models would be truly artificial life, but what would their offspring be?
Now I still think you are correct, that most people would prefer the clean/safer method you are presenting for reproduction. Too much sense in the modern world that is presented in DC.
Still it SHOULD be possible to turn androids truly into a lifeform, whether or not anyone has actually gotten all the pieces to work together, yet. Of course, when one does that... are they androids anymore... or just the next evolution of humanity?